Betting Blog

The hipster match-up of the day at Melbourne Park on Monday sees Monica Niculescu take on Amanda Anisimova. This match-up features a huge contrast in styles, perhaps the biggest contrast possible. The famous Niculescu forehand slice up against the powerful young American who is quickly rising up the rankings.

Niculescu and Anisimova have both made decent starts to their respective seasons. Niculescu fought through the qualifying draw all the way to the quarter-finals in Shenzhen whilst Anisimova reached the quarter-finals in Auckland. Both players claimed notable victories in their first tournament of the year. Niculescu thrashed Jelena Ostapenko in Shenzhen whilst Anisimova cruised past Barbora Strycova in Auckland in what loomed as a tricky match-up for the American.

This will be the first career meeting between Niculescu and Anisimova. This should be entertaining match-up because of the extreme contrast in styles. Anisimova is young and powerful whilst Niculescu is experienced and smart. Who will prevail?

Karolina Pliskova will look to end the surprise run of 16-year-old Amanda Anisimova when the pair meet at the fourth round stage of the BNP Paribas Open. Anisimova has defied the odds to reach the fourth round stage of the year’s first premier mandatory event having never previously won a main tour level match before this event. Can the young American keep her dream run alive or will Pliskova be too strong?

Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in action at the 2018 BNP Paribas Open WTA Premier Mandatory tennis tournament

Karolina Pliskova has advanced to the final 16 in Indian Wells thanks to a pair of hard-fought wins. Pliskova received a bye through the opening round before claiming a 7-6 6-1 win over Irina-Camelia Begu, Pliskova made a really slow start to that match but saved a few set points as she recovered from a 1-5 first set deficit. The 5th seed secured her spot in the round of 16 with a 7-5 5-7 6-3 win over Shuai Zhang. Pliskova was up a set and break and looked destined for a straight set win but found herself getting the job done the hard way. Pliskova has reached the semi-finals in Indian Wells in the previous two years and given the state of the draw she will fancy her chances to do the same thing in 2018.

Amanda Anisimova is having the best week of her young tennis career. Anisimova arrived in Indian Wells in great form having come through the qualifying draw to reach the semi-finals at the Indian Wells 125K event last week. Anisimova has rocketed through the draw this week, beating much more credentialed opponents. Anisimova started the event with a 6-2 6-2 win over Pauline Parmentier before beating an out of form Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 6-1. It was in the third round where the 16-year-old made her biggest move, putting a stop to Petra Kvitova’s 14-match winning streak with a huge 6-2 6-4 victory.

This will be the first career meeting between the pair, whilst there are almost 150 places between them in the rankings, Anisimova has proven that means little so far in Indian Wells.

Petra Kvitova and Amanda Anisimova will open proceedings on Stadium 1 on Sunday in Indian Wells when they meet at the third round stage of the BNP Paribas Open. Petra Kvitova is on an incredible 14-match winning streak, just 1 win away from the longest winning streak of her career. Standing in Kvitova’s way is the 16-year-old American. Anisimova is in unchartered territory having never previously won a match at this level prior to this event. Can the youngster cause a huge upset?

Petra Kvitova survived a dramatic opening round clash in Indian Wells. After receiving a bye through the first round, Kvitova opened her 2018 BNP Paribas Open campaign with an epic 6-7 7-6 6-4 win over Yulia Putintseva in a match that last well over 3 hours. Kvitova demonstrated once more just how tough she is under pressure, twice coming from a break down in the final set to blast her way past a determined opponent.

Anisimova is having the best few weeks of her very young career. Amanda Anisimova produced a near-flawless performance to cruise past the 23rd seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 6-1 in the second round. Anisimova’s power was too much was a sluggish Pavlyuchenkova to handle on the night. Prior to that Anisimova breezed past Pauline Parmentier 6-2 6-2. It has been an unbelievable couple of weeks in the Californian desert for the 16-year-old after she came through the qualifying draw to reach the semi-finals at the Indian Wells 125K event last week.